On Aug. 31, the Dark Energy Survey officially began with a team of physicists and astronomers around the globe using the world's most powerful digital camera to try to answer some of the universe's most fundamental questions. The survey team will systematically map one-eighth of the sky (5000 square degrees) in unprecedented detail during the next five years.
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SourceFermilab and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, its budget is $7.5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 48,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $626 million in professional and service contracts yearly.